Bonds
by The Jasper Fox
Summary: The bond between a Partner and their Pokemon, is a truly remarkable thing as Ash and May are about to discover. Stories better than summary.
1. Sunset Tears

**Bonds**

**I've written quite a few fictions since starting to post them on this site and decided that I would try my hand at creating one for Pokemon, so I hope you readers enjoy it. For the purpose of the fic I have aged up the characters just a bit, Ash is 18 years old and May is 17 years old.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the characters, animation or countless movies.**

**Chapter One, Sunset Tear's **

Ash Ketchum had just mastered the Battle Frontier challenge and was looking forward to going back home to Pallet Town, but something was bothering him. As Ash looked down at the plaque he had just been awarded, something just did not feel right. The plaque meant that his journey in the beautiful Hoenn region had come to a sudden end, which meant saying goodbye to Max and May; saying goodbye to Max would be easy but saying those words to her was something that the raven haired trainer just could not bring himself to do, especially not after all that they had been through on this adventure. A part of Ash had grown accustom to the bright blue eyed, happy go lucky brunette coordinator and leaving without telling May how he felt about her pained his heart greatly. Ash did not know if May even felt the same way about him, and it was this inherit fear of rejection that had kept him from telling her thus far but the longer he kept putting it off, the greater it pained him.

"Ash, is something wrong?" May asked, in a concerned tone of voice as she placed a hand on top Ash's left shoulder.

"No, May, nothings wrong," Ash said reassuringly detecting the concerned tone of her voice, which cut across his thoughts like a sharp knife over his skin, "I was just doing some thinking, that's all."

"What about?" May asked excitedly.

"About how happy my mom is going to be when I get home and show her this plague full of badges," Ash lied as he turned his head to the left so that he looked directly into May's bright blue eyes, pushing the pain he felt as he looked deep into her eyes, to the back of his mind once again.

"Oh," May said feeling slightly let down by Ash's answer, "You aren't planning on returning home soon, are you?"

"I was planning on heading home tomorrow morning," Ash said as he felt tears began to form behind his eyes the longer he continued to stare at May, "Now that I have this, I do not have anymore reasons to remain here in Hoenn."

"Ash, do you think it would be possible, for you to put your plans on hold for a few more days?" May asked, a pleading look in her eyes, "After all this could be the last time all of us will be together for who knows how long, a few more days wouldn't hurt. I'm sure our parents would understand."

"I guess it really doesn't matter when I leave for home," Ash said noticing the sad look in May's usually bright and happy eyes, "Like you just said, May, this could be the last time we are altogether like this for quite awhile. A few more days would be fine."

"I hate to interrupt, you two," Brock said as he looked at his two friends, who obviously cared deeply about one another but were both to afraid at how the other would react to tell each other the truth, "But it's getting late and if we do not leave soon, we wouldn't likely make it back to the Pokemon Center until after nightfall."

"Brock's right," May said as she looked back over her shoulder at Brock and Max, who stood a few feet away from where she and Ash were, thankful for the distraction because she knew that she would be in tears soon if she would have continued to stare deep into her raven haired loves dark brown eyes any longer, "Is everyone ready to go?"

"May, wait," Ash said suddenly.

"Yes Ash," May said quickly turning her head to look back at him, "What is it?"

"Pikachu wants to know, if he can ride on your shoulder?" Ash asked for the electric pokemon, which sat on his right shoulder, looking at May expectantly.

"Of course, he can," May said cheerfully, while she smiled at said pokemon brightly, "I promise to keep him safe, Ash.'

"May, you don't need to promise me anything, you never have," Ash said thoughtfully as he affectionately stroked her left cheek with the back of his right hand, "I have and will always trust you."

May felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment, over Ash's rather affectionate gesture and quickly looked away from the raven haired boy, who she loved with every fiber of her being but was to afraid to tell him because did not know if he felt the same way about her. May had almost fully recovered from her embarrassment when she suddenly felt the electric mouse's weight on her left shoulder and began to fall backwards because her body was not used to the added weight, unlike that of the trainer of her affection. Ash instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist and kept her from toppling over but it did not keep her from blushing furiously at his sudden closeness. May briefly cherished the feel of her lovers arm around her waist before hurriedly apologizing to Pikachu and Ash, and running to catch up with Brock and her little brother who had already walked away from where they stood.

Ash walked a short distance behind May to make sure that she did take a misstep as the group walked back down the mountain toward the Pokemon Center located near its base, but soon found himself hypnotized by the motion of her hips as they swayed from side to side with each step she took. Ash found the motion so distracting, that he walked directly into the clear tempered glass front door of the Pokemon Center which May, Brock, and Max had just walked through. May looked back over her right shoulder, when she heard the soft thud and giggled sweetly as she watched Ash slide down the door, only to crumble in a hemp near there bottom. Brock and Max, who heard the thud as well rushed back outside, through the other door, to help there friend while May kept on walking. When Ash had finally dusted himself off after being helped to his feet by Brock and Max, he looked through the door, only to see that May was no longer on the main floor.

After Ash, Brock, and Max had climbed the stairway, which led to the guestrooms they found Pikachu sitting outside of the room they were sharing. Pikachu followed the group as they walked into the room, where Ash threw himself down in one of the bottom bunks and pulled his hat down over his eyes. As Ash lay upon the clean sheets, his mind drifted to thoughts about a certain brunette coordinator. Finally, finding it impossible to clear his mind of thoughts about May, after forty-five minutes, Ash sat up and walked toward the door. Pikachu got up to follow his trainer but Ash told his best buddy that he wanted sometime to himself and that he would be back in a little while. Then Ash walked out of the room, in search of fresh air hoping that it would help him get May off his mind.

Ash opened every door he past, hoping to find the room his angelic brunette was staying in but had so far been unsuccessful; finding mostly empty rooms which had the blinds and curtains closed, causing odd shadows to be cast on the white walls of each room. Ash was nearing the end of the corridor and was getting worried that he might never find May's room, but there were still two rooms left before he was in the lounge. Ash opened the door on his left, and saw May's saddlebags hanging from one of the foot boards post. So he had found her room, but Ash still had not found whom he really wanted to talk with: May. So he silently closed the door and walked into the lounge. Ash was just about to sit down in one of the large puffy chairs, to watch the sunset in comfort, when he saw that his angelic brunette was standing out on the balcony watching the setting sun herself. Ash carefully thought, about how he could go about telling May that he loved her without freaking her out, and was soon walking toward the door that opened onto the balcony with a determined look in his eyes while he felt his heart beginning to beat ever faster.

"Doesn't the sunset look beautiful from up here, May," Ash said as he stood beside her, carefully placing his hand on the balcony rail a few inches from hers.

"Oh, hi Ash," May said nervously as she looked to her left and saw the object of her affection suddenly standing there beside her, so close yet so far a way, "I didn't expect to see you out here."

"Yeah well, I needed to think something's over," Ash answered her truthfully, all the while slowly inching his hand toward hers as they stood watching the setting sun.

"Then, I will leave you, to your thoughts," May said suddenly as she stepped away from the railing and began to walk back inside, "But don't stay out here too long or you might catch a cold."

"May, wait," Ash said as he reached out with his right hand, which had been on the railing only moments before, grasped her left hand and intertwined there fingers just as quickly. "Please don't go. You are the reason, that I came out here in the first place."

"I… I… I am," May said as she continued to stare at there intertwined fingers, feeling very confused as to why Ash was suddenly holding her hand the way he was while also enjoying the warm feeling which was quickly sweeping through her as they continued to hold one another's hand.

"It's nothing, May," Ash said as he felt the tears, which had threatened to overflow his mental dam on more than one occasion as they neared the end of this wonderful adventure, finally brake through and streamed down his flushed cheeks, "I guess it was to much, to hope for in the end. Well come morning, you wouldn't ever have to worry about me anymore because I will be gone, and out of your life forever."

Then Ash suddenly released May's hand and ran back inside, as tear rolled unburdened down his cheeks. Ash quickly ran back to his room, and threw his backpack back over his right shoulder before telling Pikachu that they were leaving that instant. Ash could hear the shocked voices of Brock and Max complaining and trying to get him to tell them what was so important that he had to leave that night, especially when he had already told May that he would put his trip home off for a few days longer but to the heartbroken teen they seemed a great distance away; Ash just simply glared darkly back at them, which seemed to scare them both into keeping quiet. The only thing that Ash wanted to do now was leave, and put as much space as possible in-between himself and the Pokemon Center that the fading light would allow him. Ash was not going to let anything stop him from making headway on his long journey home to Pallet Town, not even the feelings he held for May; as far as he was concerned May on longer existed nor had he or Brock ever met that angelic brunette coordinator, whom had stolen his heart, or her little brother either. Pikachu ran as quickly as he could to keep up with his owner as Ash ran down the stairway with great speed.

**The joy and angst of being a teenager in love, classic. Now I know from watching the season which this story is based off the episode ended very differently, but that's one of the beauties of writing these fictions. You know what to do, so plz R&R. **


	2. Bruised knuckles and mended hearts

**The second chapter picks up right were the first one finishes. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to any of the characters, animation or countless movies. **

**A/N: I would like to extend a thank you out to pete the rock, for reminding my of the Pokemon only category on this site. Also I would like, thank you to all my readers. **

**Chapter Two, **

**Bruised knuckles and mended hearts**

Meanwhile, May was standing out on the balcony, glued to the spot she was in when Ash had suddenly grasped her hand and intertwined there fingers. She was still trying to figure out, what had just happened between her and Ash, and what could have possibly caused Ash to act the way he did, let alone hold her hand in the manner that he did before he begun to cry and ran back inside, leaving her standing outside by herself and completely confused. Had she known that the boy she secretively loved was about the leave, she would have not hesitated to go after him. May shivered when she felt the breeze suddenly get icy cold around her and decided that she had better go inside before she caught a cold; in the morning she would find Ash and apologize for her behavior that night, May also hoped that by then she would have the strength to tell him how she felt about him by that time as well. As the door to the balcony shut behind May, Ash threw open the double front doors of the Pokemon Center and ran blindly into the forest as tears continued to roll down his cheeks.

Later on that evening May lay awake stop the neat sheets of the bed, still fully dressed with her hands behind her head. Even thought she had gone to bed earlier then she normally would have, she was excited about the prospect of talking to her raven haired love the following morning but the more she thought about what happened between the two of them as they stood out on the balcony earlier that day, she got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Outside the weather had turned dark and stormy, roughly ten minutes or so after she had come inside, and it reflected how she felt on the inside perfectly. If that wasn't bad enough, the brunette coordinator could not get the image of Ash crying out of her head; no matter how she tried to rationalize the situation, May could not figure out what could possible cause the always strong willed and determined boy she fell in love with to cry.

Sighing as she looked over a the digital alarm clock and saw that it was a quarter past eleven at night and she wasn't anywhere close to falling asleep, like she would normally be any other day. Briefly closing her eyes a few moments later in an attempt to calm her thoughts, the image of Ash tightly holding a shivering Pikachu against his chest to keep the pokemon warm suddenly flashed before her minds eye. Quickly bolting straight up and strapping her saddlebag style packs back around her waist once more, May began to solemnly pace back and forth across the floor.

"It was just a dream," May said aloud to herself, wringing her hands in fear and worry as she continued her solemn march, "At least I hope, it was just a dream. Ash would know better, than to go out in the middle of a thunderstorm like this."

'_**But what if its not just a dream, I mean he wasn't himself before he ran back inside the Pokemon Center earlier today,' **_**May thought darkly to herself. '**_**What am I saying, this is Ash I am talking about, even if he was not in the right mind after he left me standing out there by myself, I don't think he would have left the Pokemon Center. Either way I should go and cheek just to make sure, it would probably help me sleep better knowing that he is safely inside.' **_

Pulling open the door May ran down the corridor desperately hoping that her raven haired love was safely within the walls of the Pokemon Center and not where she had seen him in her dream, no it was more like a nightmare to her. Upon reaching the room that the three boys were sharing, the coordinator hammered on the door with both her hands feverishly, which by now had become two clinched fists, as a combination of fear and worry began to grip her heart as it pounded ever faster in her chest. Inside the room, Brock, who had been sound asleep before the loud and feverish knocking began, sat up, and answered the door. Rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes with his right as he pulled the door open with his other, Brock was not prepared for the sight that greeted them for standing in the hallway outside of the room stood a very frightened and hysterically looking May.

"Brock tell me where Ash, my dear, sweet, kindhearted, one in a million Ash, is?" May demanded hysterically as she gripped the front Brock's short sleeve in her hands tightly. "Tell me where he is, god damn't. I need to know, it's very important."

"I honestly don't know where he could be," Brock said as he placed his hands on May's shaking shoulders.

'_**Could be,' May repeated over in here mind. 'Could, as in past tense, as in was here but is not currently.' **_

"You mean that he's not inside the room with my brother and yourself?" May asked, even though she already knew the answer that she was going to receive, was not the one she wanted to hear.

"That's right, May," Brock said.

"So if he's not here, then where is he?" May meant to ask but in her current state it came out as more of a statement as she felt tears beginning to well up behind her eyes.

"I just told you, I don't know where he is, May," Brock said in his best calming voice, seeing May looked even more distort when he told her this, "I have no idea, what happened to him while he was out of the room but when he came back he did not look very happy, but then again Ash has not looked that happy for these past three weeks. Ash simply threw his backpack over his shoulder, told Pikachu that they were leaving right away and then ran out of the room with a very startled and confused liking Pikachu running behind him, trying to catch up."

"Oh my god," May suddenly said as everything from earlier that evening became clear to her as if someone had just struck her over the head with a brick. "What have I done. Ash probably hates me now."

"May, what are you talking about?" Brock asked his friend concernedly, whom was now visible trembling from head to toe.

"Ash was showing my how he felt about me, rather than just telling me with words," May said not registering Brock's question yet answering it at the same time, "That was why he was holding my hand the way he was. My heart was telling me that he cared about me but my brain just couldn't understand what was going on at the time, no wonder he ran away from me crying. I need to find him and tell him how much he means to me, before I lose him forever. It can't end like this, not after everything that we have been through."

Then May ripped herself out of Brock's tight hold on her, with great strength even though she did not look all that strong at the moment and ran toward the stairway. Brock watched as May turned the corner and disappeared from view with silent tears running down her cheeks. Brock closed the door before walking over to where Max lay asleep, on the bed that Ash had been lying on top of earlier, and gently shook him awake by shaking his shoulder. When Max opened his eyes, Brock sat across from him and told Max what had just happened.

Throwing open the front doors of the Pokemon Center, less than a minute later, the brunette coordinator ran out into the stormy night before her determined to find the boy she loved and confess the true depths of the feeling that she held for him. After many hours of blindly searching the dense forest which filled the mountain valley, May leaned against the trunk of a tree to catch her breath. She was bone chilling cold, hungry, and tired but May dare not even think about returning to the Pokemon Center, not yet, not until she had found Ash and made things right with him. May missed her Ash to much and needed to find him, needed to feel his powerful arms wrapped gently around her, holding her close against him; that was where she always felt safe. Ever since the start there adventure together, Ash had always been there for her whenever she was feeling down and would always go out of his way to cheer her up; if just to make her smile and it would always work. The longer they traveled together, the lesser she thought of Ash as just simply another one of her friends and the more May began to think of Ash as a possible boyfriend but now all of that hung in the balance.

"Why do I always have to put so much thought, into the most simple of things," May screamed out into the dark forest which surrounded her as she quickly turned around and punched the tree she had just been leaning against with her clenched fists, "I could have, no should have told you earlier but I was just to god damn shy. Ash, I love you and always have from the first moment I met you. I am so sorry, I never meant to cause you any pain or hurt you in any way. I just… I just did… I just did not think that … that you could ever think of me as being more than just a friend."

May fell to her knees, her legs finally giving way, and landed on her hands on the muddy forest floor. The deeply depressed teenager didn't know where it came from but she some how found the strength to crawl over to the nearby tree, the same tree which she had bruised her knuckles on from punching it so hard, leaned back against the trunk and looked up at the jet black sky. As May sat there, she pulled her knees up to her chest and began to rock herself slowly back and forth as rivers of tears now followed down her cheeks. Deep down inside, the brunette coordinator could fell her heart breaking as she though about the wonderful life she could have had with Ash, had she just had the courage to tell Ash how she felt about him earlier.

Just then a very dark thought crossed May's mind and burying her head against the top the her knees, she began wishing that a bolt of lightening would come thundering down from the sky and kill her.

'**After all what's the purpose of going on living, when the person I wanted to spend the rest o f my life with, is possibly gone for good,' May thought darkly to herself, 'Even if he does come back, what are the chances that he will ever be able to forgive me, for what I have just put him through. This is for the best, Ash. I only hope the one day, after you have crossed over yourself, you and I can be together.' **

In that very dark and disturbing moment, the teenage girl would have gladly had given back all the trophies and ribbons she had won, for one last moment with her raven haired love. One last moment, in which she would tell Ash that she was sorry for all the pain, she had caused him and that she loved him more than anything else in the world because he had become her entire world. Yelping when she felt someone place a hand gently on her left shoulder, May looked up to see who it belong to. Just then, almost as if on queue, a fork of lighting illuminated the person's face as the clouds thundered loudly in the pitch-black sky above her. A fresh wave of tears streamed froth from her eyes, this time tears of happiness, as the brunette's eyes locked with those of her raven haired love who was softly smiling down at her.

"Ash" May said in a horse voice as she staggered to her feet, while the boy in question gentlemanly helped her back to her feet, "Ash, is that really you?"

"Yes, May, it's really me," Ash answered sweetly as he pulled his angelic brunette into a tight hug, wrapping his arms gently yet securely around her soaking wet body, "But what about you, are you okay?"

"I feel a lot better now," May stated truthfully relishing the feeling of Ash's chest as it rubbed against her arms and head, "Now that I have found you, Ash. I am so sorry if I hurt your feelings earlier, I never meant to cause you any pain. It just took me a while to figure out what you were trying to tell me as we stood out there on the balcony and by the time I did, you had already left."

"I had to come back, May, there is no way that I could have left for home comfortably without making this right with you," Ash spoke softly tightening his hold on her slightly and tenderly patting the top of her damp hair with his left hand lovingly, "Besides I told you that I would put off returning home for a few days, didn't I."

"That you did, Ash, so lets make the most of it," the brunette commented tilting her head back slightly so that she could met his eyes while he patted the top of her head sweetly, that was when she noticed that his usual electric mouse pokemon companion wasn't with him, "Um, Ash where's Pikachu?"

"What are you talking about May, he's standing right next to me," the seasoned raven haired pokemon trainer answered reassuringly, cracking a warm smile down at the soaking girl pressed against his equally soaked clothing before glancing toward the forest floor to his right at the bright yellow pokemon, "Come on lets get you back to the Pokemon Center and out of those wet cloths before you catch a cold."

Both blushing over what he had just said as the multitude of meanings hit them, mere seconds later, the two teens softly smiled at one another before Ash lowered his left arm and sweeping it against the back of her knees lifted May off her feet. Feeling the added weight of Pikachu upon her stomach while she wrapped both of her arms securely around the nape of Ash's neck, the brunette coordinator happily smiled at the electric pokemon as he briefly rubbed one of his red dotted cheeks against her bosom before curling up and nestling atop her belly. Nestling her head against the front of Ash's right shoulder, a few moments later, as he began carrying the two of them out of the dense forest which surrounded them May felt all warm and toasty on the inside.

Meanwhile back at the Pokemon center, Brock paced back and forth in his room while Max sat cross-legged on his bed. Brock was furious that Nurse Joy would not let them go after Ash and May, the fact that she told him the area would sometimes on rare occasions flood, only increased his feelings of worry. But the countless hours of solemn marching had brought some clarity as to why Ash left in such a hurry after basically promising May that he would not leave for a few more days. Which in turn caused him to look back over their entire Hoenn region adventure, and suddenly everything became clear to him. Brock could remember the countless times that Ash would go out of his way, just to cheer May up when ever he noticed that she seemed sort of down. Brock also thought back to all the times that he had caught Ash watching May, just out of the corner of his eye, as they made camp or were just walking from one place to another, and how Ash would always look at the ground with a slight blush when ever Brock would bring up the subject of May and the deep seeded feelings that Ash clearly had for her.

"Max, you didn't happen to notice anything different about your sister today, did you?" Brock asked, as he stopped in front of Max.

"Brock, now that you mention it, my sister has been acting a little strange ever since we started this journey with you and Ash," Max said, as he looked up at Brock, "My sister has been happier than I have ever seen her, especially when Ash is standing close to her. You would not believe the number of times I have caught her stealing glimpses of Ash, when ever she thought he would not notice. The few times that Ash did catch her, May would just look in the other direction as she hid the blush that slowly crept across her cheeks while Ash just probably shrugged it of as another one of the crazy things girls do."

"I know that Ash can be dense at times, but I think even he would notice something like that if it happened more than once," Brock said, "But was there anything different about her today specifically, Max?"

"Well she did seem sort of sad, when Ash told her that he was planning on going home tomorrow, or should I say today," Max noted correcting himself when he noticed the time on the clock that was hanging on the wall behind Brock, "Seeing that it's already half past two in the morning."

"Yeah, Ash was pretty quick in putting his plans on hold just for her, when May asked him if he would leave for home at a later date," Brock said as placed a hand on his chin and began his solemn march once again, "And then there was how they were looking deep into one another's eyes while they were talking to each other, that entire time."

"Oh and don't forget about how Ash told Pikachu that he wanted sometime to himself to think something over," Max added, "I wonder what it was about?"

"It was, May," Brock said, as he stopped in front of Max for a second time, "At least I'm pretty sure it was about your sister. For the past few weeks, I have noticed that something seemed to be bothering Ash, quite a bit lately and it no doubt has something to due with your sister. Its unlike Ash, to just put off his plans for returning home, like this."

"And what about when he suddenly decided to leave without as saying goodbye to my sister?" Max asked, "You can't say that its connected to her, now can you Brock?"

"As a matter of fact I can, Max," Brock said, "When I told you about the state your sister was in before she ran down the stairs, I did not actually tell you everything. I neglected to tell you that Ash tried to show May that he cared about her but when she did not quite understanding his actions, he ran away from her crying."

"When did that happen?"

"That was what happened before, he came back here, and suddenly decided it was time for him to leave," Brock said with a sigh, "And when I told May, that Ash had packed up and left. I think she finally figured out what Ash was trying to tell her, and then she left to go after him."

"I wonder where they are now?"

"Where ever they are, hopefully they are together," Brock said, "The weather has gotten worse since, your sister left. If it's not raining so hard at morning's first light, then we are going out there and looking for them ourselves. I don't care if Nurse Joy doesn't agree with me on this, they are our friends. On top of that its driving me crazy to be coped up in here, while they are out there somewhere. If it was May out there, I can grantee you that Ash would be out there searching for her, no matter how bad the weather was that just the type of guy he is."

Just then there was a knock at the door, which caused the two of them to look at the door in surprise. Brock slowly walked over to the door, his heart pounding faster with every step he took toward it. When Brock opened the door, he saw Nurse Joy standing there.

"I have good news for both of you," Nurse Joy said as she folded her hands and placed them against the front of her uniform, "Ash and May returned safe and sound, just a few minutes ago. Ash told me to tell you two that, he will talk to you guys after he is finished patching things up with May. I would not expect to see him for quite sometime though, it sounded like those two had plenty to talk about when I left them, just now."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Brock said.

"Your welcome," Nurse Joy said.

Then Nurse Joy walked to the end of the corridor, and descended the stairs to the lower levels of the Pokemon Center. As Brock closed the door to the room, he heard a soft giggle brake the peaceful silence of the corridor. At the opposite end of the corridor, the door to May's room was partially open so the Pikachu could come and go as he pleased, but currently the electric pokemon lay asleep at the foot of the bed. Inside the room Ash and May laid on top of the bed, nestled close to one another; both dressed in some of Ash's spare cloths that his mother always packed just in case he every needed them. May was wearing one of Ash's short sleeve shirts over her naked torso as well as a pair of his boxers and sleep pants, since her the cloths she had been wearing earlier where completely soaked through with rain water. Ash was wearing a short sleeve shirt, and had on a dry pair of boxers under his sleep paints. Ash kissed the top of May's head before tucking the lose strands of her long brown hair behind May's ear as she lay there with her head on Ash's chest.

"May," Ash said, tenderly as he ran his free right hand gently over May's bandaged and wrapped knuckles, on both of her hands.

"Yes, Ash?"

"Why did you come after me?"

"I had trouble falling asleep," May said as lifted her head off Ash's chest so that she could look directly into his eyes. "It initially started out as just a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach but after what I would call a nightmare, I bolted straight up and walked down to your room to make sure you were there. As soon as I found out that you weren't here, I sort of realized everything and ran out to find you."

"That was unbelievably reckless of you May, you could have been seriously injured wondering aimlessly through that dense forest especially during such an intense storm the likes of this," Ash commented while thinking back to the very first time that had met Pikachu and the lengths he had went to protect his incapacitated poke pal from a flock of angered sppearow and their fearow leader while riding Misty's stolen bike, which he still had yet to repay back to her, "And just How did you injure your knuckles, though?" Ash added before bring each for her injured hands to his lips and kissing each individual knuckle tenderly.

"It must have happened when I punched the tree, you found me at the base of," May said, while she watched as Ash lovingly kissed each one of her bruised knuckles individually, "I was mad at myself, for not realizing what you had been trying to tell me out on the balcony earlier that day and needed to hit something, so I turned around and punched that tree. I didn't feel any of the pain at the time because I was convinced that I had lost you for good."

"At least you were wrong about that," Ash said as he placed May's hands back on his chest and cupped her left cheek, "May, do you remember when I told you, that I had no more reasons to remain here in Hoenn?"

"Yes, I do," may said, as she playfully ran her fingers down Ash's chest.

"Well, I was not exactly telling you the truth back then," Ash said, "I do have a reason to remain over here for a little bit longer."

"Really, what could your reason possibly be?" May asked playfully, as she continued to trace his sculpted chest with her delicate fingers.

"You, May," Ash said, "You are my reason to stay here in Hoenn. I came back because I love you May, and always have from the very moment we first met."

"I feel the same way about you Ash," May said, "But don't you miss Pallet town and what

about your mom, wouldn't she want to see you after all this time?"

"I am sure my mom, will understand," Ash said furrowing his forehead briefly, "Besides how do I know that you wouldn't have another meltdown while I'm gone."

"Oh that's an easy problem to solve," May said, "How about this, the two of us will take the ferry over to Kanto after we visit my folks in Little Root town."

"Now that, that problem has been solved, what do you think, we should do now?"

"You could start by kissing me, Ash, and then we will see where that leads us," May suggested as she slid on top of him and straddled his waist.

Then May leaned forward and placed her lips on top of his, who with this kiss would become her first and only boyfriend. Ash returned May's kiss with one of his own as wrapped his left arm more tightly around her waist while he ran his right underneath the bottom hem of her shirt and up her back, his right hand coming to rest on the back of her neck. May felt a small shiver run down her spine, that had nothing to do with the weather outside the bedroom window, as Ash slide his right arm up her naked back and deepened their kiss accordingly. May broke their passionate kiss a few minutes later, pulled the short sleeve shirt, she was wearing, off over her head. Letting it fall to the floor as she and Ash resumed passionately kissing one another. May squealed with delight as Ash trailed kisses down her slender neck.

"Ash, that was amazing," May said five hours later, as she laid her head, on the pillow beside her boyfriends, while she lightly drummed her delicate fingers on Ash's bare chest, "I'm surprised we did not wake Pikachu up. Going at it, like we were."

"Pikachu is a pretty sound sleeper, once he's asleep not much can wake him," Ash said as he looked down at the foot the bed, where the electric pokemon lay sound asleep while he readjusted the top sheet of the bed which now covered the two of them, "I still can not believe that, we just did that."

"Ash, you did just fine," May said reassuringly as she continued to drum her fingers lightly on his chest doing her best to ease away any of his doubts, "I am more than satisfied for the time being. It was a little painful at first but after the first couple minutes it was excellent. Now I think it would best if we got some sleep."

"May," Ash whispered as he turned he head to the side to look at her.

"Yes, Ash," May whispered back.

"I love you," Ash whispered back sweetly.

"I love you, too, Ash," May whispered back just as sweetly.

Then Ash and May kissed one each other one last time, before snuggling closer to one another. May slid her left hand to his right shoulder, grasping it in a loving manner, while Ash entangled their legs. Ash and May were sound asleep a few minutes later, lost in blissful dreams of the future they would have together. Meanwhile outside the bedroom window, the first rays of a new day shone through the blanket of jet black clouds from the night before. The storm had broken bring with it, new life to the forest.


End file.
